---
sourceDocument: Zurich IT Operations Management
sourceDocumentLink: https://www.servicenow.com/docs/r/zurich/it-operations-management

 Release :

    - zurich

ft:locale :

    - en-US

ft:publication_title :

    - Zurich IT Operations Management

ft:clusterId :

    - itom

bundleId :

    - itom

workflow :

    - Technology


---

# Discovery for Microsoft Azure Cloud

# Discovery for Microsoft Azure Cloud {#ariaid-title1}

Release version: Zurich  
Updated July 31, 2025  
![](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/portal-asset/ico-clock) 4 minutes to read
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## Summary of Discovery for Microsoft Azure Cloud

This guide explains how ServiceNow Discovery interacts with Microsoft Azure Cloud environments, focusing on setting up the necessary permissions and understanding Azure resource hierarchies to enable efficient cloud resource discovery.
Show full answer Show less  
ServiceNow customers using Azure must create an Azure service principal to authorize the MID Server access to resources. Azure resources are organized into management groups and subscriptions, where management groups contain subscriptions (sub-accounts) but not actual resources. Discovery leverages this structure to simplify credential management and resource enumeration.

## Key Features

* **Azure Management Groups and Subscriptions:** Management groups form a hierarchy that simplifies organizing subscriptions. After configuring management groups and credentials, Discovery can list and select multiple subscriptions to include in discovery schedules.
* **Dynamic Credential Handling:** Discovery automatically acquires temporary credentials for each subscription sub-account from the management group, eliminating the need for separate credentials per subscription. MID Server roles can be customized for enhanced security.
* **Azure Service Principal Setup:** Customers must create a service principal in Azure, then transfer its credential values (Tenant ID, Client ID, Secret Key, Account ID) to the ServiceNow instance. These credentials enable the MID Server to authenticate with Azure APIs.
* **REST API Permissions:** Customers should verify permissions using the Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet, which details required user permissions and discovery pattern information. Updated patterns are released quarterly.
* **Integration with Service Mapping:** Enabling CI (Configuration Item) relationships for tag-based discovery allows Service Mapping to incorporate discovered Azure components into service instances, improving service visibility and mapping.
* **Comprehensive Azure Resource Discovery:** Discovery captures detailed attributes across a broad set of Azure resource types, including logical datacenters, availability zones, resource groups, networks, subnets, storage volumes, security groups, virtual servers, hardware templates, public IPs, load balancers, network interfaces, images, and storage accounts.

## Practical Application

By following this process, ServiceNow customers can:

* Efficiently discover and manage Azure cloud resources across multiple subscriptions without managing separate credentials for each.
* Maintain up-to-date discovery schedules by automatically refreshing the list of sub-accounts and datacenters.
* Leverage rich Azure data within the ServiceNow CMDB for enhanced cloud infrastructure visibility and service mapping.
* Ensure appropriate permissions and security through the use of service principals and customizable MID Server roles.

This enables a streamlined and secure Azure cloud discovery process that supports operational efficiency, accurate asset tracking, and comprehensive service mapping within ServiceNow.  
If your cloud resources are in an Azure cloud, you must create a user identity
called a service principal that grants permissions to the MID Server to access selected
resources.

## Azure management groups and subscriptions {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_zsr_zbb_kmb}

An Azure management group contains other management groups and subscriptions. The management groups in an Azure Cloud environment form a hierarchy, but
don't contain volumes or virtual
machines. Subscriptions contain cloud resources, such as virtual machines. The subscriptions that belong to management groups are called sub-accounts.

The advantages of using management groups are:

Easy population of sub-accounts

After you configure the management group and supply the necessary credentials, you can test the account. If the test succeeds, Discovery returns a list of subscriptions in that management group. From this list, you can choose
one or more subscription sub-accounts to include in the Discovery schedule using the management group. For more information on
the hierarchy of management groups and subscriptions, see [Organize your resources with Azure management groups](https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/azure/governance/management-groups/overview)

Discovery of sub-account resources using dynamically acquired credentials

When you run Discovery on your subscriptions, you do not need separate credentials for each sub-account. Discovery finds the credentials for the management group and maps them to all of the subscription sub-accounts. The Cloud
Discovery process handles credentials automatically by acquiring a temporary credential for each sub-account via an Azure API. You can elect to use the default configuration or customize the MID Server to assume other roles for
additional controls and security. In addition, Discovery can automatically refresh the list of sub-accounts and datacenters
covered in a discovery schedule. For more information, see the KB article [Retrieve newer accounts/sub-accounts automatically via Cloud Discovery.](https://support.servicenow.com/kb?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0961449)
A service principal for Azure cloud services is similar to a Microsoft
Windows service account that enables Windows processes to communicate with each other within an Active Directory domain.  
To create the Azure service principal in your ServiceNow instance, copy the service principal credential values from the Azure portal into a text editor, and then transfer those values into the instance. Figure 1. The text file that you generate during this procedure  
This table shows you the Azure Service Principal value and the location in Azure where you can find the values you need for the credentials.{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_kpc_svh_wjb__entry__3}

| Cloud Provisioning and Governance setting | Azure Service Principal value | Location of the Azure value |
|-|-|-|
| Tenant ID | Azure Directory ID value from the text file. | Azure Active DirectoryPropertiesDirectory ID |
| Client ID | Azure Application ID value from the text file. | Azure Active DirectoryApp registrationsRegistered App.Application ID |
| Secret Key | Azure Application key value from the text file. | Azure Active DirectoryApp registrationsRegistered AppSettingsKeys (hidden) |
| Account ID | Azure Subscription ID associated with the Tenant ID. | Azure Active DirectorySubscriptionsSubscription ID |
[ ]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_kpc_svh_wjb}

## Verify the REST API permissions {#azure-cloud-discovery__id_ppz_r33_ydc}

Download the [Cloud Discovery patterns spreadsheet](https://downloads.docs.servicenow.com/resource/enus/api/servicenow-discovery-patterns-api-details.xlsx) so you can grant user permissions required for running the Discovery patterns. In addition to permissions, the spreadsheet also includes useful information such as pattern names, types, CI Classes, and links to vendor documentation. New patterns are available quarterly, so check periodically to be sure you have the latest version of the spreadsheet.{#azure-cloud-discovery__cloud-discovery-api-ph-short-prereq}

## Data collected by Service Mapping during top-down discovery {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_mtq_nbg_ppb}

To include discovered components into service instances, enable CI relationships used in tag-based discovery by Service Mapping. These CI relationships are available from the 1.0.68 release on the ServiceNow Store. For operational steps, see [Tag-based discovery configuration](https://www.servicenow.com/docs/BN~dk30OpBm4_TRMXqfTZg "You can refine the default configuration to control which CIs Service Mapping includes in application services during the tag-based discovery process.").  
Service Mapping uses tag-based discovery to create service instance maps including the Cloud components. The Service Mapping application comes with the following preconfigured CI relationships used for tag-based discovery. These CI relationships are available from the 1.0.68 release on the ServiceNow Store. {#azure-cloud-discovery__id_yqp_xhy_qpb__entry__3}

| CI | Relationship | CI |
|-|-|-|
| Configuration Item \[cmdb_ci\] | Hosted on::Hosts | Logical Datacenter \[cmdb_ci_logical_datacenter\] |
| Logical Datacenter \[cmdb_ci_logical_datacenter\] | Hosted on::Hosts | Cloud Service Account \[cmdb_ci_cloud_service_account\] |
[ ]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__id_yqp_xhy_qpb}

## Azure Cloud Discovery API list {#azure-cloud-discovery__section_zbd_ypm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.name |
| name | response.name |
| region | response.displayName |
| status | Installed |
[Table 1. Logical Datacenter (cmdb_ci_logical_datacenter)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_mr2_1qm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.id |
| name | response.name |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
| state |   |
[Table 2. Availability Zone (cmdb_ci_availability_zone)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_md1_hqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| name | name |
| state | available |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 3. Resource Group (cmdb_ci_resource_group)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_q1s_3qm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| state |   |
| name | name |
| cidr | properties.addressSpace.addressPrefixes |
[Table 4. Network (cmdb_ci_network)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_c5j_jqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| subnetName | response.name |
| subnetId | response.id |
| resourceGroup | response.properties.resourceGuid |
| networkId | response.id.split('/subnets/') |
| networkName | getNetwork(networkId) |
| cidrBlock | response.properties.addressSpace.addressPrefixes |
[Table 5. Subnet (cmdb_ci_cloud_subnet)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_nfw_jqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
| storage_type | properties.BlobType |
| volume_id | id |
| name | name |
| size_bytes | properties.diskSizeGB \* 1024 \* 1024 \* 1024 |
| object_id | id |
| size | response.properties.diskSizeGB |
| "volume_container" | containerName |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 6. Storage Volume (cmdb_ci_storage_volume)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_i3l_kqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| name | name |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
[Table 7. Security Groups (cmdb_ci_compute_security_group)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_wdg_lqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| memory | properties.hardwareProfile.vmSize |
| state | The instance statuses: * succeeded: on * running: succeeded/stopping * deallocating: stopping/stopped * deallocated: off * terminated: error {#azure-cloud-discovery__ul_x51_b5m_jyb} |
| object_id | id |
| cpus | properties.hardwareProfile.vmSize |
| disks | properties.storageProfile.dataDisks |
| nics | properties.networkProfile.networkInterfaces\[\].size |
| vm_inst_id | properties.vmId |
| name | name |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 8. Virtual Server (cmdb_ci_vm_instance)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_flf_mqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| name | name |
| object_id | name |
| vcpus | numberOfCores |
| memory_mb | memoryInMB |
| local_storage_gb | resourceDiskSizeInMB |
| cores | numberOfCores |
[Table 9. Hardware Template (cmdb_ci_compute_template)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_g25_mqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.id |
| name | response.name |
| public_dns | properties.dnsSettings.fqdn |
| public_ip_address | properties.ipAddress |
[Table 10. Cloud Public IP Address (cmdb_ci_cloud_public_ipaddress)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_udj_nqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | "properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.privateIPAddress OR properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.publicIPAddress, then call Public IP Address API" |
| name | "properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.privateIPAddress OR properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.publicIPAddress, then call Public IP Address API" |
| ipaddress_type | "properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.privateIPAddress ==\> Private IP Address OR properties.frontendIPConfigurations.properties.publicIPAddress ==\> Public IP Address" |
| status | Installed |
[Table 11. Cloud LB IP Address (cmdb_ci_cloud_lb_ipaddress)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_jkz_rqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | id |
| name | name |
| private_ip | properties.ipConfigurations |
| public_dns | call public ip address api - properties.dnsSettings.fqdn |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
| is_static | properties.ipConfigurations |
| mac_address | properties.macAddress |
| public_ip | call public ip address api - |
[Table 12. "Cloud Network Interfaces cmdb_ci_nic"]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_jrd_tqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| name | response.id |
| object_id | response.name |
| guest_os | properties.storageProfile.osDisk.osType |
| image_source | id |
| status | Installed/ Retired |
[Table 13. Image (cmdb_ci_os_template)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_irp_wqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| name | name |
| object_id | id |
| sku_name | sku.name |
| state | properties.provisioningState |
[Table 14. Cloud Storage Account cmdb_ci_cloud_storage_account]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_sf4_yqm_qmb}

|-|-|
| CI Attributes | Azure Attributes |
| object_id | response.id |
| name | response.name |
| state |   |
| dns_name | properties. |
| fqdn |   |
| canonical_hosted_zone_name |   |
[Table 15. Load Balancer (cmdb_ci_cloud_load_balancer)]

{#azure-cloud-discovery__table_kcf_zqm_qmb}

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